National debt rises to P5.364T as of May

The national government (NG) debt slightly rose by 1 percent to P5.364 trillion as of May 2013, according to the Bureau of Treasury (BTr).

In a statement, the bureau said that government debt as of May was P55 billion higher from end-April level.

Of the total debt, the BTr noted that P1.903 trillion, or 35.5 percent, was sourced from foreign creditors, and P3.461 trillion, or 64.5 percent, was owed to domestic creditors
Meanwhile, domestic debt rose by 0.7 percent, or P22 billion month-on-month arising from the net issuance of government securities.

External debts also increased by 1.8 percent, or P33 billion from the previous month’s level, mainly because of the depreciation of the local currency against the US dollar which raised the peso value of external debt by P52 billion.

“This was partially offset by the net depreciation of third currencies against the US dollar, which reduced the peso value of debt by P15 billion and net repayment amounting to P4 billion,” it stated.

The peso is on the P43 to a dollar level for a month now after the United States Federal Reserve announced that the US central bank would likely slow its bond-buying program this year, as the US economy continues to improve.

It also said that the total guaranteed debt of the government went up to P479 billion. This is higher by 0.9 percent, or P4 billion compared to the end-April 2013 level.

The BTr said that peso depreciation raised the peso value of external guaranteed debt by P9 billion, while net depreciation of the third currencies reduced the peso value by P5 billion.